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DoD News Briefing - Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld.

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M2 PRESSWIRE-30 May 2003-US DOD: DoD News Briefing - Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld(C)1994-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:05272003

(Interview with Todd McDermott, WCBS-TV, New York.)

Q: Mr. Secretary, I first want to address the death of two United States soldiers in Baghdad in a firefight, that makes I believe 4 soldiers died with hostile fire within the last 24 hours or so. Obviously the war is not over, you ve said that you ve made that apparent. Many Americans want to believe it is. You ve also said obviously no one knows when the end of this occupation will be if somebody does they re a liar. I think that s a paraphrase of something you said. Do you have a better idea though, can you give Americans a better idea of when U.S. soldiers may not be subject to this type of attack, this type of ambush?

Rumsfeld: Well, I think there s two things happening. One is that there are still people who were the enforcers for the Saddam Hussein regime -- the Fedayeen Saddam people and the Ba ath Party members and undoubtedly some of his security guards.

They re out there, they were not all captured or killed.

Second, the jails of Iraq were emptied. There may have been 50 to 100 thousand prison inmates who were put back out in the street, criminals of various of types.

So there are clearly people in that country that are willing to kill other people and we have to recognize that and expect that there will be periodic attacks and not only against Iraqi people but against coalition forces as well.

Q: And that danger will go on as long as coalition forces are in Iraq?

Rumsfeld: Well, I think it will taper down at some point but for the time being I think we have to be prepared to expect that we ll have to use force to impose security in the country.

Q: U.S. military now actually has more troops on the ground in Iraq than the government did during the war itself. That may be for a short period of time -- I know there are some in transit going...

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